Analysis first, then plan, as Tookoo recommends. Use native plants, as neotoma recommends. Get specific plant recommendations locally, as Terri & sgelade recommend. Here is my two cents worth, for the shortterm. a. Remove and stockpile the lawn edging and most of the mulch back against the fences. b. Take a can of spray paint, or a bundle of surveyor's flag, and mark the largest circular or curved form that will fit within the fenced areas, no matter where the trees stand (inside or outside of the line) to form the temporary edge of your lawn area. See if the entire family agrees on the alignment or just do what looks best to you as the Senior Gardener. c. Add the wood edging to the new edge, or, it will look a lot better if the edge is not visible, using a steel edge whose top edge is down just above the grass roots and no longer visible, and not an impediment to the lawn mower. (when you form the plant beds, you will dig down a couple inches at the edge, where it meets the steel, and then slope the bed up from there, and the mulch will be contained at the level of the lawn, beyond) My recommendation, after you call in your landscape advisor, is to fill the beds totally with ground cover, beneath the shrubs, so no mulch will be seen after the two years of plant growth, using only a finer textured mulch which will become part of the soil bed. (Maybe the bark mulch will smell good in your new fire pit, along with the wood edging.) d. Plant the entire area with grass seed or sod and enjoy the beauty. The curved edge will make the space appear and feel larger and will decrease the maintenance of the smaller bed areas. On the subject of tree placement: analyse first, then plan. Look at all the views beyond your fenceline from all windows of the house, the living/ dining areas, all the bedrooms, to enhance the good views and to block the big, the bad, and the ugly. The large trees on your list will block views from the upper windows, The small horizontally branched trees will be a piece of sculpture in your downstairs view throughout the year, while their flowering and fragrance yet another reason to be alive. For instance, if you have an attractive small tree that has attractive flowers and foliage, PLUS has attractive bark color and has a sculptural quality in the off-season, you won't have to visit the museum quite as often, with a sculpture garden right out your window.

I have one of those Monika and I would venture to say that you wouldn't be able to cut it flat because with everything around everywhere having the waved top it would look really odd I think, and I doubt whether you would be able to paint it at least until the development is well over or you could find the developers all over you, along with residents who like yourselves have signed to agree to the covenants. A lot of people enter into these developments because there is a better chance of people looking after their properties however I will say that I am the only owner occupied in my part of the street, and I am forever weeding everyone else's garden, picking up the rubbish blown from the sea breeze on new builders not looking after their rubbish and the renters chucking empty beer bottles where they have sat on the steps drinking and throw the bottles into the garden and I actually water the rental alongside me as our gardens join, as yours probably does, and they refuse to water it. I want my place to look nice and if left to these renters it would look like homeless shelters. I think the tall pots and something like the black bamboo could look really good :)

I think the layout is a great use of the space. It flows, there's room to move and everything is accessible. Think about replacing the cupboard next to the dishwasher with drawers. Drawers give a lot more usable storage area that is easily accessible. You could put in a blind corner cupboard as well (Bunnings have them). Pull out bins under the sink eliminate the need to have a bin in a corner somewhere (Bunnings have those too). Some open shelving on the wall to the right of the sink near the arch would be handy and would look lovely. It doesn't need to cost a fortune either. Don't be scared to get quotes. We've just recently had 15 quotes for the kitchen we're renovating and the price varied by $15K. Totally worth the run around to get extra quotes. We also picked up some great tips and advice along the way. We are paying a builder who does renovations and extensions to do it for us. He can get things so much cheaper at trade price than we could. He is also managing the tiler and painter as he uses guys that work with him all the time. We have decided to get a flat packed kitchen that is pre-cut. The builder is putting it together and making the timber counter tops for us at less than half the price of the kitchen places. We chose the tiles and he ordered them at a better price. Same for the sink, taps, handles etc. We have saved thousands of dollars doing it this way and he manages the entire thing for us. Added: I rang the builder. He said that if your budget is really tight, consider getting a Kaboodle kitchen and have a builder install it for you. He recommended not to order the Kaboodle hardware (hinges, drawer runners etc) as it's not the best quality and a builder can order others. The handles would be fine though. It would make it way cheaper for you and you would still get a decent quality kitchen.

Hi AndrewJason, Again! :) Depending how many people in your home. Do you have other linen store somewhere else in the home? If so I would consider going with the linen hall cupboard in the laundry for tall things, then using the full length of the wall for the bench, units under at the outside door end, and put the sink nearer to hall door: think about the order in which you would usually use these things. Dirties in from the kids rooms and the bathroom, rinse, soak, hand wash, WM, TD if you need to, out the door to the "rotary or linear, unit for air movement and solar assisted moisture removal with appendages and wiring" ! When it has achieved its optimal, goods are brought in and bench is used for folding and stacking. The shirt rail under the overhead cupboards are brilliant! As are rails along the other walls for towels in use or pool towels, airing, finish drying etc. My preference would be to move the hall and outside doors to the center of their walls so you have two sides of "U" with walkway between down the center of the room, for cupboards, benches etc between the full length of the room. Go on knock out those bricks!!! Even with the loo door on the right hand wall the space would be very helpful. Hope this is helpful. Cheers, Margot